I honestly think that the pace of this movie is slow. But you have to ride with its slow pace, if not, its soul won't open up. Skipping even a second of it makes huge of a difference. Scenes from the movie were genuine enough to seize the status of many ordinary families. Whilst watching the funeral scene, I felt I was forcing myself to cry when my eyes had gone dry. This film made me feel desolate just as A Ho felt apathetic before he had thrown a fit. A Ho did not shed a single tear for the death of his brother. For the family, A Ho was nothing but a remnant that cannot even be in comparison with his older brother A Hao. Which made sense for A Ho's rigidness. His presence was toned down after A Hao gained all the expectations of their parents.

The Chen parents' reactions state their partiality towards the kid, creating a gap between each of them. A hard-to-swallow fact, "Both of them liked one better than the other". A Hao was that 'one', and because he was, he was at the peak of the tower but it was too exhausting for him that he had to give up. Remember when he said, "Sima Guang saw a child, and it was himself." When people expect a lot from you, you live up to their expectations to the point that you lose track of yourself. Of who you really are even without them telling who you are. A Hao is in the same situation as Sima Guang. Except that depression ate him. Expectations drowned him.

While A Ho remained detached from the rest of the family. He knew he had enough of Radish's manipulative actions. And yet he was dragged into another trouble. The prison cell was his awakening of the life distant from the crimes he was brought up in. I felt blue seeing A Ho so lifeless and without dreams in life even after his release. All the brightness was seeped out of him. He didn't even bother getting released earlier.

How many joys and sorrows does life hold?
I don't know

But I could say that joys and sorrows come hand in hand
And if there's someone, who, regardless of his role, is not crying nor laughing but rather numb. I hope they can feel again.